Eels, Punting and Lavender

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What do eels, punting, a lavender farm and the North Sea shore have in common? They are all part of the Arnold family's extended weekend celebration of Kathy's birthday.
On Saturday we attended the annual EEL DAY celebration in Ely. Ely was named after the eels that inhabitated the marshes that surrounded Ely before they were drained. The celebration included a parade, historical reenactments, food and fun. We watched Vikings battling, dancers dancing and Tim winning a bag of goodies from Starbucks during a Wheel of Fortune game sponsored by a local radio station. It was great fun and somehow we even ended up participating in the Eel Day parade.
On Sunday morning Kathy opened her birthday presents. Then after church at Resurredtion Lutheran in Cambridge, we went "punting" on the Cam. "Punts" are boats similar to gondolas in Venice. They were used to deiliver goods in ancient Cambridge but now are just for fun. We punted for about an hour, getting a guided tour of the "backs" of the collges of Cambridge Univ. What a beautiful ride it was...seeing buildings constructed in the 15 and 1600's. Afterwards we walked through some of the wonderful college gardens.
On Monday, we headed north to Norfolk (county) and visited the Norfolk Lavender farm in Heacham. Then we went a couple of miles farther to Hunstanton and picniced on the shore of the North Sea. After a walk on the seashore and some seashell collecting, we headed home, stopping briefly at the Castle Rising on the way home.
Tomorrow, while the kids and Kathy resume homeschool, I will attend the Pastor's Confernce of the Evangelical Lutheran Chruch of England, held in a London suburb. More on that later... What a wonderful celebration of Kathy's birthday!
More later...
Todd